Disney World Set to Remove Iconic Billboard From Park

An iconic billboard that almost all visitors to Walt Disney World pass by during their visit to the resort will be removed in the coming days. The animated 3D Tower of Terror billboard on World Drive is set to be demolished and replaced with landscaping. Construction crews are already on site and preparing to knock down the large advertisement, which has stood for decades. Disney has given no reason for the demolition, but the billboard was frequently in need of repairs to keep the moving elevator, which drops from the top of the billboard to the bottom, in working function. The billboard was just repaired in 2021 after a period where the elevator had stopped moving entirely. 

No change is expected to the Tower of Terror itself, which is currently themed around the classic CBS series The Twilight Zone. The attraction seems a bit out of place at Disney's Hollywood Studios given that Disney has shifted many of its rides around a Disney-owned IP, but no change is imminent. At Disneyland, Disney re-themed Tower of Terror around the Guardians of the Galaxy, re-naming the ride "Mission: Breakout" and adding animatronics including a version of Rocket to the ride. However, EPCOT recently opened its own Guardians of the Galaxy ride, so Disney would likely want to re-theme the ride as something else. 

The Tower of Terror has served as the defining feature for Disney's Hollywood Studios for several years, despite it not being located near the center of the park. The 50th anniversary celebration featured the Tower of Terror getting lit up to bring the tower back to its 1920s opulence. 

Disney has made several subtle changes to its roadways in recent months. The iconic highway signs recently were swapped out, replacing their unique purple and red color palette with a more generic blue and green selection.